Working On A Chord Melody - Part 2

I have completed the first part of creating a chord melody arrangement. For me that involves the actual arranging of the music. I use Sibelius notation software to notate the arrangement. I used to use paper and pencil, but I have gotten fast enough at Sibelius, and notating rhythm accurately, that it makes no sense to do it twice. I can make edits easier in Sibelius than on paper. And I burn through less erasers that way. 

So once I have my arrangement notated I print it out and begin to learn to play it smoothly. Then I make any changes necessary with a pencil while I practice, and then go back and fix the notation on my computer later. Learning to play the song well is the most time consuming part for me. I try to get it where I can play it not only accurately but with feeling also. Once I am sure that I can actually play the song the way I arranged it, then it is time to start memorizing it so I can make a video. 

I believe I can play a song I have memorized far better than one I am sight reading. So I like to memorize songs before making a video. In the past I made videos when I had just barely memorized an arrangement, or actually sight reading, and the results was not my best performance. I was thinking too much about what was coming next and not the music. So now I am trying to get the performance and memorization down before making a video. Hopefully this will result in better videos. 

I am currently in the memorizing stage. Which is simply a matter of playing the song over and over until it sinks in. Stay tuned for a chord melody video of “A Day In The Life Of A Fool.” I hope it is worth the wait. 

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Photo by Mark Starlin